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The NHL’s free agency period is here, and the league’s player movement has begun. It likely will move fast and furious.
On Monday, Mitch Marner was traded to Vegas, and Brad Marchand re-signed with Florida.
Tuesday, Brock Boeser re-signed with Vancouver, Anaheim landed Mikael Granlund and Carolina signed Logan Stankoven to an eight-year deal, amongst a plethora of other deals.
More moves are certainly coming so follow along with all of our coverage from our staff of NHL experts and check out our latest NHL free agency big board from Chris Johnston here.
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The Oilers have signed goaltender Matt Tomkins and blueliner Riley Stillman, two players who project to play in AHL Bakersfield, to two-year, two-way contracts for the league-minimum in the NHL.
Tomkins posted a .907 save percentage in 26 games for AHL Syracuse this past season. He has six games of NHL experience, all with Tampa Bay in 2023-24. The 31-year-old becomes the new organizational No. 3 netminder behind Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard after the Oilers opted not to qualify pending restricted free agent Olivier Rodrigue on Monday.
Stillman, 27, suited up in five games for Carolina this past season and another 35 contests for AHL Chicago. He's appeared in 163 NHL games with Florida, Chicago, Vancouver, Buffalo and Carolina.
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Scott Morrow joins the New York Rangers as part of the return in the K'Andre Miller sign-and-trade.
Morrow is a very talented defenseman who has produced at the top of his age group in the NCAA and the AHL. His game was quite raw when he was drafted and has required some real maturing over time, but it has made noticeable improvements defensively. He’s never going to be a defensive stalwart and can still get beat one-on-one or caught sleeping/trying to do too much, but he’s a 6-2, 200-plus pound defenseman with legit skill who can make plays and run a power play. With continued development he should be a PP2 quarterback and everyday player in the NHL.
A steady winger who doesn’t do anything flashy, Appleton is a veteran who can be trusted to handle his own on the defensive side of the puck. He also has a little offense in his stick, primarily as a playmaker. Appleton will likely find a raise on the $2.1 million he was earning.
The New York Rangers traded restricted free agent defenseman K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. In return, the Rangers received a conditional first-round pick, a second-round pick and defenseman Scott Morrow, one of Carolina’s top prospects. According to PuckPedia, both picks are for the 2026 draft. The first is top-10 protected and the better of Dallas and Carolina’s picks.
Miller comes to the Hurricanes on an eight-year, $60 million contract as part of the sign-and-trade, as reported by the New York Post. With a $7.5 million cap hit, it marks a significant raise from his previous $3.872 million average-annual-value contract, which was signed before the 2023-24 season.
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Rangers sending K’Andre Miller to Hurricanes in sign-and-trade for picks, prospect
The veteran winger plummeted back to earth after a dream season in 2023-24, when he racked up 75 points for Nashville. That total fell to 28 in a campaign split between the Predators and Wild. Nyquist is a talented playmaker who remains a strong skater and seems like a plausible bet to deliver a season that falls somewhere between the extremes of his last two.
Olofsson's biggest weapon is a hard, heavy and accurate shot. That makes him a threat to score whether he’s on the ice at five-on-five or patrolling the power play. While his game can leave something to be desired on the defensive side of the puck, there’s always going to be room for Olofsson in a lineup somewhere because of his ability to score goals.
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Alex Nedeljkovic can’t be any worse than Alexandar Georgiev last season. That’s what the San Jose Sharks have got to hope.
It might be argued that no goalie was going to flourish behind the Sharks’ woeful defense in 2024-25 but they’ll operate from the belief that Nedeljkovic will be a steadier option than Georgiev was after getting the veteran as part of a return for shipping starter Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche.
The investment in Nedeljkovic, 29, is a third-round pick in 2028 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’ll carry a $2.5 million salary cap number for next season and then can become an unrestricted free agent. More importantly, Nedeljkovic can make 30-plus starts while providing support for 23-year-old Yaroslav Askarov as he handles the demands of playing regularly in the NHL.
While there are some obvious limitations with a 5-foot-10 defenseman who isn’t particularly well-suited to withstanding a physical game, Grzelcyk makes a killer breakout pass. That helped propel him to a career-high 39 assists in Pittsburgh this season. Grzelcyk is also an excellent skater and can transport the puck on his own.
Per reports, the Carolina Hurricanes are acquiring K'Andre Miller in a sign-and-trade from the New York Rangers.
Miller will sign an 8-year, $7.5M AAV extension with the Hurricanes.
Best slotted as a third-liner at this point in his career, Mangiapane is known for having a nose for the net. He scored 13 even-strength goals for Washington this season and also was deployed as a penalty killer. Just 29, there’s still good hockey left in Mangiapane’s legs.
The Rangers signed forward Will Cuylle, a restricted free agent, to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $3.9 million, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Cuylle is coming off a 20-goal, 45-point season in 2024-25, his second full year in the NHL.
Along with showing offensive promise, Cuylle brought a physical edge that the Rangers value and became one of the team’s penalty killers this season. AFP Analytics projected him to receive a three-year deal with an AAV around $3.4 million. This contract is worth slightly more per year on a lesser term. Cuylle will hit restricted free agency again in summer 2027.
Cuylle’s contract is similar to the one Tyson Foerster got from Philadelphia. Also 23, Foerster had 25 goals and 45 points for the Flyers this past season. Philadelphia signed him in May to a two-year deal with a $3.75 million AAV.
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Rangers extend forward Will Cuylle for two years, $3.9 million annually
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The New York Rangers are signing Will Cuylle to a two-year deal worth $3.9 million in AAV, per source.
A strong skater with a decent set of offensive tools, Roslovic can be counted on to produce about 0.5 points per game. He brings some versatility as a right winger or center who can help a power play. However, Roslovic also has battled consistency issues and was a healthy scratch at points for Carolina during the playoffs.
Barring what happens with Marco Rossi and any other additions, Minnesota's cap space remaining this summer is $10,961,668 (this assumes Buium, Jiricek, Ohgren, Yurov, Wallstedt on the opening night roster).
The San Jose Sharks get their goalie to pair with young Yaroslav Askarov.
July 1 used to be a day of great celebration for Pittsburgh Penguins fans, as their favorite team signed or traded for big names to help their Stanley Cup push for the better part of two decades.
Memorably, Phil Kessel joined the Penguins 10 years ago today. Those were the days.
These most certainly are not the days, unless signing Parker Wotherspoon revs your engine. But they are necessary days.
The Penguins aren’t going to be very good in 2025-26. On paper, they’re one Sidney Crosby injury away from being one of the five worst teams in the NHL. They might be headed in that direction even if Crosby stays healthy and continues to defy age.
The great philosopher Wayne Campbell long ago gave us this line: “It’s like coming home on Friday night and doing your homework right away so that your Saturday night is free to just party.”
That pretty much sums it up.
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The Sabres signed center Ryan McLeod to a four-year contract extension worth $5 million per year. He was a restricted free agent. McLeod had a career year with 20 goals and 53 points last season playing a middle six role for the Sabres. He came to Buffalo last summer as part of a trade that sent 2022 first-round pick Matt Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers. McLeod's speed and defensive acumen made him a valuable player for the Sabres last season. He turns 26 in September, so this deal should theoretically lock him up for a good chunk of his prime.
Evgenii Dadonov signs a one-year deal for $1 million with bonuses, per league source. Nice pickup for Jersey's middle six.
In Mikael Granlund, Anaheim gets a versatile, heady forward who has experienced a bit of a career revival after a lackluster short stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins for their failed 2023 playoff push. The 33-year-old Finn has been a productive secondary scorer the last two seasons, whether as a leader with the bottom-feeding Sharks or down in the Stars’ lineup after the Stars acquired him from the Sharks in January.
Granlund can play center and wing while being a facilitator on the power play. He’s also shown a greater willingness to shoot the puck in recent years, as evidenced by the 22 goals he scored between San Jose and Dallas last season. At his best, Granlund can be a 60-point player in the right setup — but even if he produces 20 goals and 50-plus points, that can give Anaheim’s lagging offense a boost. He showed that he can play when the lights are brightest, getting his first playoff hat trick in Game 4 of the second round against Winnipeg and putting up 10 points in 18 postseason games for the Stars.
The Ducks are much more lighter on right wing than center and left wing as Troy Terry and Alex Killorn are their top two options on the right side. It will be up to new coach Joel Quenneville to shake out as to where Granlund will play, though he’ll have a top-nine role somewhere. And that could be something Quenneville and general manager Pat Verbeek appreciates as to being able to move their forward pieces around. But with a ton of cap space and the free agency market drying up quickly, the Ducks needed to strike. It’s not a sexy signing but at least they’re not coming up empty.